How Much Importance Do You Give to Your Negative Thoughts?

Positive Psychology consists of changing our worldview. It’s impossible to completely rid ourselves of negative thoughts, but we are capable of recognizing and putting these thoughts into a perspective that helps us change our worldview. Some negative thoughts are necessary to draw our attention to situations that need intervention, but others are simply thoughts we use to explain our doubts and fears.

Here are four negative thoughts that don’t deserve your attention:

“I don’t have time”

“I’m too busy” and “I don’t have the time” are common excuses. And that’s all they are — excuses. If it’s important enough, we find time. It’s as simple as that.

“I’m not qualified to do this”

This negative thought only serves to prevent us from reaching our potential. When we’re in a state of self-doubt, we end up looking for any reason to avoid taking risks and moving forward because it’s much easier to stay where it’s safe. If you’re committed to your personal growth, you’ll go after what you want without hesitation.

“I’m not ready”

No one will ever be completely ready. If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll never get anywhere. Plan, prepare, and at some point, the only thing you need to do is take the first step, which is always the hardest. Do that and learn from the mistakes and lessons you encounter along the way.

“I don’t feel like it”

Just like “I don’t have the time,” “I don’t feel like it” is an excuse. No one said life is easy. I think we can all agree that a happy life takes work. We all come home tired, but when something is important, you find the energy and motivation to make it happen.

Changing our negative thoughts is not an easy process. Even the most positive people on the planet eventually get stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts that can deteriorate their confidence and self-esteem.

So, how do they break free from this cycle?

Through a simple four-step process:

1️⃣ Recognize the negative thoughts

Nothing can be done until we can recognize the negative thoughts that are holding us back in life. A good exercise is to end each day by writing down some of them that came up during the day, especially the self-limiting beliefs. Notice what was happening at the time, and it won’t be long before certain patterns begin to emerge.

2️⃣ Ask yourself

Once we start recognizing our limiting negative thoughts, it’s time to question them. Are they real or not? And why? We should keep questioning ourselves until we can get to the root of the problem. Once there, it’s helpful to put the thoughts into a more realistic perspective.

3️⃣ Reframe

To change a thought, we need to reframe it into a more beneficial thought. This doesn’t mean we should take all negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones. Instead, we should reframe them to include a more realistic approach and necessary actions to alleviate the weight they have on us.

4️⃣ Let go

With the newly reframed thought, it’s time to release the less beneficial thoughts. We recognize them, know they’re not real in their original form, and reframe them to better reflect our reality. Now, it’s time to let the negative thoughts go. This may seem silly, but something as simple as writing them down on a piece of paper and throwing it away (or burning it) can help your mind let go of them for good.

The voices in our heads can be overwhelming and sometimes even paralyzing. They grow disorderly and infiltrate our self-esteem. Initially, they formed and grew through influences in our lives, but we are the ones who feed these negative thoughts by allowing them to settle and take root.

Don’t fight against them because the fight requires a lot of energy in a negative way. Instead, refuse to overvalue the negative thoughts and question them tirelessly until you reach the truth.

We owe it to ourselves to challenge the voices in our heads that say we are less than we are. Knowing which thoughts are not worthy of our attention and how to overcome them is what we need to take a step toward a better version of ourselves.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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